Alphabet eyes 20,000-job expansion in Bengaluru as US visa rules bite

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has leased major office space in Bengaluru that could eventually house up to 20,000 employees, signalling a sharp expansion in India as US technology companies grapple with tougher immigration rules.

The move comes as stricter H-1B visa policies in the US make it more costly and complex for companies to hire foreign talent domestically. Bloomberg reported that Alphabet has secured a large footprint in Bengaluru’s Whitefield tech corridor, positioning India as a key growth hub for its global workforce.

Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said Alphabet has leased one office tower and taken options on two more at Alembic City, a large commercial development in east Bengaluru. Together, the three towers span about 2.4 million square feet. The first building is expected to open in the coming months, while the remaining towers are likely to be completed next year.

Alphabet confirmed to Bloomberg that it has leased one tower measuring around 650,000 square feet, but declined to comment on the additional space or on the potential scale of hiring. The company currently employs about 14,000 people in India, out of a global workforce of roughly 190,000.

If Alphabet ultimately occupies all three towers, the Bengaluru campus could accommodate as many as 20,000 additional employees, more than doubling its India headcount, according to people cited by Bloomberg.

The expansion reflects a broader shift by US tech firms in response to immigration tightening under President Donald Trump. Visa fees for H-1B applications have risen sharply, with costs potentially reaching up to $100,000 per application, prompting companies to accelerate hiring in offshore markets rather than relocate staff to the US.

Whitefield has emerged as one of India’s most important technology clusters, accounting for nearly 22% of Bengaluru’s IT output. Alphabet last year opened its largest campus in the city and has since advertised hundreds of roles spanning cloud computing, artificial intelligence, chip design and machine learning.

Reuters has reported that India is increasingly central to global AI strategies, with companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic also establishing operations in the country. Industry body Nasscom estimates that global capability centres will employ 2.5 million people in India by 2030, up from about 1.9 million currently.

Staffing firm Xpheno told Reuters that the combined India workforce of major US technology companies grew 16% over the past year, the fastest pace in three years.

Alphabet’s latest real estate move underlines how immigration policy, cost pressures and the race for AI talent are reshaping global hiring strategies, with India emerging as a key beneficiary of the shift.